To storm into the record books, “Godzilla” will have to top “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” which debuted to $72 million in 1997. That doesn’t account for inflation since then, so the mark would come with an asterisk. But anything over $50 million will put it ahead of the domestic debuts of most big monster movies, including 2001’s “Jurassic Park III” ($50.7 million), 2005’s “King Kong” ($50.1 million), Roland Emmerich‘s 1998 version of “Godzilla” ($44 million) and 2008’s “Cloverfield” ($40 million).

Legendary and Warner Bros. will be focusing on the bottom line far more than records this weekend. “Godzilla” was made for $160 million — Legendary drove the film’s development, physically produced it and bankrolled three-fourths of that — and will roll out in more than 3,800 theaters in North America as well as roughly 60 foreign markets this weekend.

All the box-office indicators suggest “Godzilla” will breathe atomic heat at the box office.

It has been tracking between $60 million and $75 million for weeks, buoyed by a series of strong trailers that have piqued interest by gradually doling out glimpses of the creature. The reviews have been excellent for a summer popcorn movie — it’s at 88 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes — and social media and advance tickets sales are very strong.

The imagery and sound of the creature and the monster mayhem — the big lizard battles a pair of massive unidentified terrestrial organisms (MUTOs) — in particular have received high marks from most reviewers.

“Godzilla” was dominating at online ticket broker Fandango on Wednesday, where advance sales were outpacing those for last summer’s Brad Pitt zombie film “World War Z,” which opened to $66 million.

“Godzilla” will roll out in nearly every global market this weekend, with the exception of China (June 13) and Japan, where it will open on July 24. The Toho Company, which released the original “Godzilla” in Japan in 1954, sold the rights to Legendary for the update, and will distribute in that country.